Page 18 of K-9 Justice

Carson braced both palms against the underside of the car. The muscles in his neck and shoulders strained against the weight of the vehicle. There was no moving it. Not on his own. “Come on!”

There was no telling what Sebastian would do to Ivy. How much pain he would inflict. Or if the bastard would just kill her for her connection to Socorro.

Max’s barking seared his nerves with every protest. Until it was all he could focus on. His heart rate ratcheted into his throat as he released his hold on the vehicle above. He couldn’t lose Ivy. Not after everything they’d fought for. Not after what they’d survived. They’d sacrificed too much to only come this far and get nothing in reward. He didn’t want to imagine all the ways Sebastian was punishing her for her crimes against the cartel, but he couldn’t stop the thoughts either.

He’d taken this assignment to do something good with his life. To earn the kidneys both his mother and Ivy had donated to save his life. But what had he really accomplished? What did he have to show for it? There was no end to the amount of eviland violence he and Ivy took on every day, and no matter how hard he fought, it felt as though every step forward was ripped out from underneath him. He’d given up his friends, what little remained of his family, his life. All he had left was Ivy.

“And Max.” Carson shifted his body weight to one side of the cavity stabilizing the hoist. There wasn’t enough room for him to roll. He had to leverage his heels and palms into the floor and slide. Dim light bled through the gaps between the crushed vehicle and the platform meant to support the tires. He could make out movement through the holes. “Max.”

Stillness followed her gruff response.

More details came into focus the longer he forced his brain to account for the obstacles in his vision. He could just make out the K-9’s paws if he concentrated hard enough. “Come here.”

Max took a few steps forward but was prevented from making it to his position. Which meant Sebastian had most likely tied her to something in the shop. Only Carson couldn’t tell with what. There was a difference between a chain and a section of rope. She whined about not being able to fulfill her orders. “It’s okay. We’re going to get out of here. We’re going to find your mom. I promise.”

Though how he was going to do any of that still hadn’t made itself clear. Either way, he wouldn’t give up. Not on them. Not on their future. One they’d earned through the countless hours of blood, sweat and tears. Of losses on both sides and the hurt they’d inflicted. On victims who hadn’t been given the justice they deserved. Because he believed in them. Him and Ivy. These past two years had been about doing what they each thought was best to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, but no future was worth not having her in it.

Carson angled his head in a way to give him a better view of whatever had been tied around Max’s collar. An earthquake-sized relief rocked through him. Rope. He and Max had trainedfor this in the times they weren’t assigned perimeter security or guard duty. It had taken up silent hours waiting until the next Socorro raid, and he’d never been more grateful for those hours now. “Max,packen.” Bite.

The German shepherd stared at him as though trying to decipher if a crushed car was the one giving her the order. Carson fit his finger through one of the gaps in the metal.“Packen.”

His K-9 partner took the command to heart, turning on the section of rope securing her to something out of sight. She clamped down on the twine and got to work. Within minutes, Max had chewed through the rope and gained her freedom. A few feet of rope still remained tied to her collar, but she didn’t seem to mind. Charging for his position, she put some bounce in her step. Showing off. She pressed her nose against his exposed finger.

“Good girl. Good girl. I’m getting you the largest steak I can find as soon as we get out of this place.” Carson rubbed at her nose, but the affection fell short. “Okay. We need to find the controls to get this thing off of me.”

How the hell he was going to manage that in his current position, he didn’t know, but Max was smart, and he’d prepared her for anything. He didn’t have a whole lot of knowledge when it came to mechanic shops and salvage yards, but there had to be a button or lever that would lift the vehicle.“Knopf.”Button.

Max sniffed at his finger for a few more seconds, then pulled back. Out of sight. Her nails clicked against the cracking cement. Strong at first, then less so. A rise of panic coated Carson’s throat, but as long as he was trapped here, Max wouldn’t leave. It wasn’t in her nature to abandon the people she loved.

“What do you see, Max?” He tried to maneuver farther down the cavity, but the angle of the tire platform dropped off toward his feet, and his toes hit the underside of the vehicle.“Knopf?”

No answer. No sound of her nails on the floor.

“Max?” he asked.

The car jolted above him.

His nerves spiked into dangerous territory. Carson braced for the potential of the two-ton vehicle to drop directly on him, but nothing happened for a series of seconds.

The car shifted again. This time increasing the light coming in through the gaps between the hunk of metal and the hoist. It was moving upward. A laugh clawed through Carson’s chest. “Max,knopf!”

A mechanical groan filled his ears, and the car lifted higher. It cleared the platform, but there still wasn’t enough room for him to squeeze through. Not yet. “Keep going, baby.” Another round of moaning raised the oversize paperweight higher.

The hoist continued its upward ascent. Any mechanic would’ve spotted the signs the weight had been unevenly distributed and stopped, but he couldn’t expect that from a German shepherd.

The vehicle had started tipping toward him. Off-balance.

But there still wasn’t enough space between the bottom of the car and the tire platform for him to escape. Carson didn’t have a choice. He had to move. Now.

He kept his attention locked on the unbalanced vehicle as he hauled himself over the brim of the cavity holding him hostage.

Carson hit the cement floor, free of his makeshift prison.

Just as the vehicle dropped.

Two thousand–plus pounds of metal screeched from the impact. In the exact same location as he’d been held hostage. Shattered glass escaped the confines of the car’s shell and skimmed across the floor to his position.

Max’s bark called to him from the back of the hoist. He scrambled to his feet, out of breath and in one piece. Because of his K-9 partner. Max nearly knocked him over as she stretchedonto her hind legs to give her version of a hug. He buried his hands into her fur. “You’re getting as many steaks as you want tonight.”

---